And the awards go to…

Magic City Art Connection’s 2013 juror, Bayeté Ross Smith, came south from New York City thanks to a collaboration the festival has with his representation here in Birmingham, beta pictoris gallery/Maus Contemporary Art. He had a huge undertaking at the 30th annual contemporary art festival. Jurying 215 artist booths in 4-6 hours is no easy task. With this challenge a lot of other factors start to play an important role in those award decisions like formal training, experience, expertise, exposure, and instincts.

Bayeté was up for the challenge. And he was well equipped too. He’s young, for one. So he had the stamina to cover over 200 artist booths in a day. He also posseses the knowledge, skills and creative talent as an artist and educator. His work has been published in numerous books and magazines as well as featured in many national and international exhibitions, including the following piece from his “Our Kind of People” series which examines how clothing, ethnicity and gender affect our ideas about identity, personality and character. Living in New York City, Bayeté is also at the forefront of leaders in artistry, creativity, innovation and taste making with first hand access and exposure to what’s coming down the pike from established and emerging artists, as well as what galleries and museums are showcasing as the best of the best in the art world. In our mind, he was a great choice as the festival prepares to usher in the next 30 years of art, artists, and creative progress.

As he made his closing remarks at MCAC’s Friday Night Applause awards dinner and VIP party, Bayeté applauded each and every artists’ talents and imparted words of encouragement that hammered home the message of how important it is to keep creating, pushing yourself in old and new directions, and to always be authentically you when creating art.

Congratulations to all of the 2013 award winners! And a special thank you to Bayeté for accepting our invitation as MCAC’s 30th annual juror.

EXHIBITING ARTIST AWARDS

Regions Bank
Michael A. Calvert Best in Show
CHRIS BRUNO
#384

• Kinetic Communications_ Signature – CHIHARU ROACH #106
• Protective Life_ Maralyn Wilson Signature – STEPHEN RAY #445
• al.com _ Signature – ATHLONE CLARKE #234
• HealthSouth Corporation _ Award of Distinction – MICHAEL FERNAMBUCQ #348
• Alabama Power _Award of Distinction – DENNIS HECKLER #402
• BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama _ Award of Distinction – ELLIE ALI #107
• City of Birmingham _ Award of Distinction – EMILY ALLISON #403
• University of Montevallo _ EMERGING ARTIST AWARD – CHRIS DAVIS #116
• Joe Piper_ Award of Merit – TIFFANY OWNBEY #437
• Bradley Arant Boult Cummings _ Award of Merit – KENT AMBLER #354
• REV Birmingham_ Award of Merit – MIKE SHERRER & TRINY CLINE #360
• Birmingham Magazine _ Award of Merit – RANDY GACHET #122
• New Latitude_ Award of Merit – TRACY McKAY #132
• Omni Studio_ Award of Merit – MICHAEL BANKS #364
• Royal Cup_ Award of Merit – AMY LANSBURG #359
• Bancography_ Award of Merit – SU ABBOTT #357
• BBVA Compass_ Award of Merit – KATHERINE LINN # 378
• Motion Mobs_ Award of Merit – DAN BROWNING #408
• B-Metro_ Award of Merit – ANDREW THOMAS FINDLAY #349
• Magic 96.5 _ Award of Merit – JOHN LYTLE WILSON # 123
• H-Life Magazine_ Award of Merit – GALINA HERNDON #251
• Over The Mountain Journal- SPIDER MARTIN Photography Award – MIKEL ROBINSON #355
• Weld for Birmingham_BILL FREEMAN Pottery Award – GAUDALUPE ROBINSON #105

ART EDUCATOR AWARD OF RECOGNITION

• FREIDA HALL – Ramsay High School

HIGH SCHOOL SCULPTURE AWARDS presented by Publix Super Markets Charities

• First Place presented by Alabama Baby & Child: ALTAMONT SCHOOL – LINDA MASON, Teacher
• Second Place presented by Nall Whatley Foundation:  ALABAMA SCHOOL OF FINE ART – RANDY GACHET, Teacher
• Third Place presented by Special Occasions: MTN. BROOK HIGH SCHOOL – MARTIN McDORMOTT, Teacher